Karen White was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She attended college at Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana, where she obtained a Bachelor of Science in Management.

Her first book, In the Shadow of the Moon was a double finalist for the Romance Writers of America RITA Award. The Girl on Legare Street hit The New York Times Best Seller list in November 2009, and On Folly Beach in May 2010, which was also a NYT bestseller. Most of White's novels are based in the low-country of the southeastern United States. Some of her other titles include: The House on Tradd Street, The Lost Hours and The Memory of Water. Her title's Sea Change, The Time Between and The Sound of Glass made the New York Times Best Seller List.